Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/262/148/817/
Do you know?
The African Union has prepared a final draft of an AU Convention on Cyber security (“the AUCC”). The AUCC is scheduled for final passage at an AU meeting in January 2014.
After extensive discussions with various Kenyan stakeholders from industry, academia, and NGOs, we (Strathmore - Centre for Intellectual Property) have identified numerous provisions in the AUCC that, if passed by the AU and ratified by Kenya, will have substantial negative effects on the Kenyan online economy and social culture. A few of the more problematic examples are:
1. The AUCC significantly restricts freedom of expression in violation of the Constitution of Kenya 2010 by prohibiting individuals from expressing ideas and theories on religion and ethnicity.
2. The AUCC requires governments to have in place a mechanism for cyber forensic investigations into online criminal activity. This includes appointment of investigative judges with almost unlimited power to require seizure and analysis of digital and physical evidence. Most African governments currently lack legislative and technical capability to satisfy such a legal requirement, and the likelihood of misuse is high.
3. The AUCC criminalizes all unsolicited electronic communications. No government or intergovernmental treaty in the world has had success in doing this; it is completely impractical and will draw wide criticism for selective enforcement or lack of enforcement.
4. The AUCC requires that a person or a corporate organization engaging in electronic financial transactions (e.g., M-Pesa or OLX users) provide full identity information, including PIN and address information. This requirement is costly and risky, and it remains unclear how such data will be protected and how confidentiality will be maintained.
Finally, preparation of the AUCC involved little or no consultation with non-government stakeholders. Major industry stakeholders have expressed serious misgivings to us about the scope and practicality of the AUCC. Most industry stakeholders, however, remain completely unaware even of the existence of the draft AUCC.
Oppose passage of the AUCC in its current form here